This morning the window-shades were opened to reveal a perfect winter day with big, soft flakes of snow filling the air, sticking to the trees and covering the ground. Less than two hours later, the snow has stopped falling and the sun keeps peeking out between the clouds. I know that the snow will soon melt off the early species Crocus and Iris blooms I photographed yesterday, some scouting honeybees will be out gathering their nectar and pollen. I will soon see other spring garden ‘pioneers’, like primroses, species tulips, Bearclaw and Purple Hellebores, Winter Aconite, and our local native Townsend’s Easter Daisy (Townsendia hookeri) making their entrance. It’s all good!
Harlequin’s Gardens is back this Friday, Saturday and Sunday to start another year of exceptional plants and seeds, empowering and cutting-edge classes (see this weekend’s classes below, and our full class schedule here), the best soils, amendments, pest solutions and tools, and everything you need to grow your own plants from seed!
Let’s start SEEDS:
Now is the time to seed many spring greens indoors for transplanting in early spring, such as lettuce, pak choi, mustards, broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, kale, kohlrabi, and hardy herbs such as parsley, chives, sage and thyme.
The first week in March is also when we start our tomato, pepper, eggplant, ground cherry and tomatillo seeds indoors.
Many perennial wildflowers can also be started in pots now. Be sure to read the instructions on the packet to see whether cold-stratification or any other pre-treatment is required.
We’re stocking our curated racks of Botanical Interests and Seed Savers Exchange packets — full of the most successful and rewarding heirloom and modern varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers for our climate! Our local (Broomfield) Botanical Interests also provides a wealth of growing instructions and other great information on both the outside and the inside of their packets!
BBB (Beauty Beyond Belief) seeds are on their way, with flower and meadow mixes that support bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other beneficials! Also coming – individual Colorado and regional wildflower seeds!
Our seed-starting supplies include
2 ½” durable black plastic pots, and trays that hold 32 pots
DocuPots – 2 ½ “ biodegradable pots made in Sterling, CO from shredded office paper
Fort Vee Potting and Seed-starting soil mix – the perfect mix for germinating your seeds!
2024 Stella Natura Astrological Planting Calendars – a great guide to the best timing for your seed-sowing, transplanting, harvesting and more!
When it’s time to sow seeds directly in the garden and move your plant starts outside, we’ve got you covered, literally! Our ‘Ensulate’ row cover fabric will give your young plants protection from wind, critters, insects and cold, a single layer offering up to 8 degrees of frost protection. Be sure the fabric’s edges are anchored well so it doesn’t blow away.
Our lighter ‘Seed Guard’ is the perfect weight for covering seed furrows or beds to protect your direct-sown seeds from drying out and disturbance from weather, birds, critters and keep seeds in place, while offering 3-4 degrees of frost protection.
We have premium tools for preparing your garden!
Our ergonomically-designed tools from Radius will help save your back, hands and wrists from injury when you prepare and plant your gardens. They are also tough, long-lasting, and lightweight, and they carry a life-time warranty. Unless you’re digging out boulders, they should last you a long, long while. One hint, though: To assure their longevity, keep Radius tools in a shed or garage when you’re not using them. Our assortment includes hand trowels, garden forks, and digging/transplanting spades.
In addition, we have lots of our best-selling ergonomic, one-piece stainless steel, Iowa-made hand trowels in several sizes. They cut through hard, dense clay with ease! Great for making furrows in raised beds, planting, weeding and bulb-planting.
Another top favorite is the Japanese weeding knife – the Hori Hori, with a long, sharp serrated blade that cuts through hard soil, fits between rocks and in other narrow spaces, and has a sturdy leather belt-holster. You won’t want to go out in the garden without it!
When it come to garden clean-up and pruning, we have a terrific selection of Mikl’s favorite clippers, pruners and saws. With over 40 years of pruning experience, Mikl knows which tools are worth having. He has selected a wide assortment of essential cutting tools from flower-snippers to shears, loppers, and pole-pruners. Well-made tools are a joy to use and should last for decades.
When you’re using garden tools, it’s a good idea to be wearing durable gardening gloves. Ours include West County gloves and rose gauntlets (made from recycled pop bottles), Mud gloves, and goatskin gauntlet gloves., in sizes for women, men, and helpful children.
Our Nature and Gardening Books are informative, practical, Colorado-appropriate and empowering. The list of titles is too long to include here, but we encourage you to come and have a look.